Independent Thoughts

I came across an article on the Inc website titled: An Entrepenure’s Declaration of Independence, by Rhonda Abrams.

Because many elements involved in running an arts organization are similiar to running a small business, I saw a number of declarations included here that an arts administrator would do well do heed.

Among them are: “Independence from 80-hour work weeks”–Many arts administrators end up putting their body and soul into the job. (I know I and some of my friends have at least.) Most people do the job because they love it, but when you aren’t getting much sleep, you end up resenting your work rather than loving it.

“Independence from overly-powerful customers”–read this one as including patrons, donors, board members, etc. The author’s advice is mine as well–diversify your base so falling from grace with one person doesn’t put your programs in peril.

“Independence from overly-dependent employees. If your employees are not allowed, encouraged, or developed to make independent decisions, then you’re going to be constantly burdened by their dependence. Create a working environment that gives employees responsibility and authority, making certain that employees are also given the training and support to handle such authority. ”

That one says it all for me as does the next one…

“Independence from a sour work environment. You started your own business so you could enjoy going to work; you certainly don’t want petty office politics, personality spats, and malicious gossip to ruin your daily life. Treat your employees, customers, and vendors with respect, and they’re less likely to want to declare their independence from you!”

“Independence from constant insecurity”–Probably the one problem that faces the majority of arts organizations–financial insecurity. I am sure a lot of people would be a lot happier if it were much easier to build up cash reserves/endowments for a rainy day.

There are a few more “independence” points the author makes (from overhead, bureaucracy) that give you something to think about and makes the article worth reading. (It is also rather short and an easy read.)

I hope everyone in the US had a good independence day and will perhaps take this summer (which may be a lull period for some) to mull over how you might declare your indepedence from the forces that assail you.

Board Questions

A month or so ago, I noted BoardSource.org as a resource for board related questions such as how to form one and what it means to be a board member. I wanted to revisit it and take a closer look at what it offers.

While portions of the webpage like the Topic Papers are only available to members ($137/yr, $250 for 2 years), there is still plenty of guidance provided in other areas. One of the services they provide are examples of “governance in the news” where they list a news story and then provide a brief commentary on the implications of the story.

The Q&A section is fairly large and briefly covers a wide range of topics. I thought I would summarize some of the contents just to give readers an idea of some of the considerations that go into non-profit board service.

Assessment, Effectiveness, Strategic Planning-These three sections deal with questions about the board assessing its effectiveness as well as how to evaluate the executive staff member.

Board Development and Composition/Structure-These areas deals with mission/value statements, effective board retreats, board size, term length, diverse membership without tokenism and the governance/nominating committee. The composition area also provides statistics about how many minority and female board members there are in the US.

Board Meetings-This is a large area of the website dealing with everything from how to run a meeting, how often to run them, sunshine laws, parlimentary procedure/Robert’s Rules of Order, attendance and minute taking.

Compensation-This section deals with the rare case of board member compensation (non-profit board members do not get paid, unlike for-profit members), doing business with board members and IRS sanctions for exploiting non-profit status.

Financial Issues-A very detailed and very important section that deals with audits, finding an auditor, questions a board should ask about finances and about audited procedures, investment policies, endowments, unrelated business income tax, assessing the budget.

Fundraising-Another big, crucial area that covers questions like: “Should board members be required to make an annual contribution” (and how many organizations do require it?), restricted grants, best solicitation methods, donor recognition, what foundations look for in board governance, case statements and fundraising resources.

Legal Issues-Still another important area for boards. Here they deal with conflict of interest, ethics, proxy voting, Director and Officer Insurance, Form 990, lobbying and political action committees, laws governing non-profits, sunshine laws and finding a lawyer and insurance agent.

Nonprofit Sector-This is just a general information area on non-profits. Talks about what they are, the difference between 501 (c) (3), (4) and (6) status, finding college courses in non-profit management, researching financials of non-profit orgs, etc.

Organizational Issues-Basically covers making the decision to become a non-profit and the paperwork and issues to be addressed to implement that plan.

Recruit and Orient- This section deals with deciding what type of people (profession-wise) will give your board depth, questions to ask potential members, information you collect from members, courting new members and whether to have board member contracts.

Role and Responsibility- Very important section, especially for those who have never served on a non-profit board. This area discusses differences between governing and advisory boards, why non-profits need boards, what to do if you don’t agree with the board decision, duties of a board chair, board member sabbaticals, disruptive board members and benefits of board service.

There are also sections (names are self-explanatory as to the contents) on Board/Staff relations, Board Chair/CEO relations, Roles of Committees and Canadian Nonprofit resources.

As I mentioned, the answers aren’t very detailed, but they do provide guidances as to where to find specific answers. The Q&A section would be valuable in providing a potential board member a fairly thorough overview of what non-profit board service involved.

Drucker on Personnel

I read the last two chapters of Peter Drucker’s Managing the Nonprofit Organization last night. Reading it has convinced me that I really need to go out and buy the book because its insights and guidance is too valuable not to have nearby as a reference source.

The last two chapters deal with collecting a good staff of paid and unpaid personnel and developing yourself, respectively. I fear a discussion of the qualities to look for in an employee will devolve into me holding forth as to why I am qualified under his criteria for all the jobs I have recently applied.

I will say that he gives very solid, well considered advice about the process of interviewing and training people. I gained a great deal of insight into where I and others may have made mistakes in our hiring and training processes. He extends the ideas I mentioned yesterday about communication and conflict resolution into creating and developing constructive relationships with staff, volunteers and board members.

The chapter on personal development affirmed I was correct in looking for a different position that would challenge and engage me. Even though things turned out badly for me when my employers learned I was looking around, it was a far better move personally (though not economically) than deciding to stay out of fear of the poor employment environment. (There have been between 60 and 300 applicants for each job for which I have interviewed. I hate to think how many may have applied for those I haven’t.)

One encouraging element of my recent experience is that I have really begun to feel that I am interviewing with organizations I deserve and which deserve me. I don’t know if it is a change in attitude and perception or if really good organizations are beginning to have opportunities for which I am suited.

Though there might be some more things I could be doing to improve myself. The process of writing this blog and the research it has entailed are exactly the type of self-development activities he encourages. Now to get someone to hire me and pay me for all the experience I have accumulated and all the value I have added to it in the course of writing and researching!

Although I read a great deal, I usually regard the activity as highly personal and don’t voice my recommendation of books. However, I obviously do so in this case. It isn’t very long, but it packs a lot of useful advice into a small space.

Drucker on Management

Continuing with the Drucker thread. He says that non-profits don’t focus enough on performance and results. He contends that while it is extremely hard to measure, it is more important in the non profit world than in the for profit one.

The question is how are performance and results measured? Most arts organizations talk about educating the community, but they measure success by the number of people who pass through the doors. How many times does an arts organization even survey its adult audience in regard to how much more they feel they have learned since they started attending performances?

Is performance measured by how quickly an audience can be processed? Is it how politely they are handled? Is it how often they return or tells their friends? Is it how diverse the audience is? Is it the size of the audience or the impact you have in the community?

Performance and results are informed by the organization’s mission. The problem, Drucker says, is that: “People are so convinced that they are doing the right thing…that they see the institution as an end in itself…Soon people in the organization no longer ask: Does it service our mission? They ask: Does it fit our rules? And that not only inhibits performance, it destroys vision and dedication.”

He lists a number of do’s and don’ts. His most important do is focussing the organizational information and communication flow. Each person, he says, should be asking what information they need to do their job correctly and what information they can provide others so they can do their job well. This doesn’t simply apply to coworkers, but to educating ones supervisors as well. Everyone from the executive to the volunteers are responsible for providing information to others along the chain.

Drucker speaks of setting the standard of success high. It is better to be slow at approaching the standard than to set the standard too low and thus inhibit progress beyond that point.

One of the most interesting parts of his management discussion revolves around decision making. He echos some of my earlier thoughts when he points out that many times executives make decisions subordinates are able to make. The best decision makers make few decisions and they focus on the tough decisions rather than tackling the easy, but irrelevant ones.

His idea is that the best way to make decisions is to try to discover what the true decision being made is. Is it not really about cutting the budget, but actually about abandoning a segment of the institutional mission? Will diminishing the funding of one area essentially make the functions of other areas extraneous and in need of cutting themselves or merging into other areas?

This idea seems to be core to his ideas on conflict resolution. He suggests looking at the real core issue rather than the ancillary ones that lead to people calling each other names.

An example to tie both these idea together– You may decide to decrease the size of an event to save money. Suddenly half the office is fighting with the other half, shouting that the cuts should come from the other’s area. The real issue isn’t that someone will have less money to work with as much as the decision signals that the organization’s focus will no longer be on a certain segment of the market. That segment may attend 90% of the other events, but the one being diminished is a signature event for that demographic. The ultimate consequence may end up being that the people who dealt with activities for that segment will be dissolved or have their duties shifted to other areas. This is the topic that needs to be addressed, not whether the cut should be shared across the organization instead of borne by one area.

Drucker underscores the need for dissent. He uses the example of Franklin Roosevelt who had the rule that: “If you have consensus on an important matter, don’t make the decision. Adjourn it so that everyone has time to think. Important decisions are risky. They should be controversial. Acclamation means that nobody has done the homework.”

He points out the dissent is not conflict. In fact, he quotes political scientist Mary Parker Follet who said “when you have dissent in an organization you should never ask who is right. You should never even ask what is right. You must assume that each faction gives the right answer, but to a different question. Each sees a different reality.”

To go back to the example of cutting a program. One faction may see the cut as abandoning the character of the organization. Another faction may see cutting it as a path to expanding what is great about the organization. They are both right because they are talking about two different questions-maintaining character vs. increasing efficiency.

He encourages cultivating dissent and disagreement because getting it out in the open lets people feel they are heard and makes you aware of the objector and what their objections are. It provides the manager with the opportunity to come to some accommodation that will help them accept the decision even if they don’t agree with it. He also points out that this process can reduce conflict by showing that the people on the other side differ with their point of view rather and are not “stupid or malicious” by nature.

I have to say from my own experience at a few organizations, but for and non profit, that this is some valuable advice. With all the pressures directors and managers face in trying to run an organization, these guidelines are not easy to follow. Having read these chapters, it suddenly becomes clear to me what those who employed what Drucker suggests were trying to do. It also opens my eyes to how they succeeded in many little ways I hadn’t recognized at the time.

Good stuff I say!